Max Verstappen says a loss of battery power on his final qualifying lap did not cost him pole position for the Turkish Grand Prix.
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The Red Bull driver set the third-fastest time in qualifying and will move up to second on the grid after Lewis Hamilton receives a penalty.
Verstappen finished the session less than two tenths of a second behind pole-sitter Valtteri Bottas. After his final run he radioed that the “battery ran out too early.”
Even so, Verstappen does not believe his RB16B had the pace for pole without that issue.
“The laps overall were quite good, even though on the last lap I lost a bit down the straight,” he said. “We’ll have to look into that. But there was of course not the lap time in it to fight for pole.”
After a difficult Friday, Verstappen appeared more competitive from the start of qualifying, despite a treacherous track surface caused by earlier rain.
“Qualifying was quite tricky at the beginning, with the conditions,” he said. “But I think compared to yesterday, we actually managed to turn it around quite well.”
“I think quite a decent recovery compared to yesterday,” he added. “So third is the maximum today and tomorrow, lining up in second. Let’s wait and see, as well, what the weather will do overnight. But overall, I’m pretty happy.”
Verstappen said he was uncertain whether the improved qualifying pace would translate into race performance. “It should be a bit better, let’s see how competitive we are going to be in the race,” he said.
He also highlighted tyre wear as a potential factor. “Tyre wear seems quite high around this track, but at least now the circuit is a lot of fun to drive, especially the long left-hander at turn eight. We’ll find out tomorrow.”
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